My Ferrari 355 Spider and BMW M3

[griffith]

I just discovered this forum when someone referenced to it on www.ferrarichat.com. Nice work!

Now back to the cars...;-) It's a late '97 with 24k miles. I have had a TVR Griffith 500 for 3 years and was looking for something a bit less radical and more practical to use. Here's a pic of my ex-TVR:

http://homepage.hispeed.ch/friendsforfun/fotos/ferrari/images/tvr1024.jpg

The Griffith was absolutely trouble-free and the sound was gorgeous. And the car really helped me learn driving... a bit too much loud pedal and the back end was gone... Selling the car was very difficult since there is no market for TVR's in Switzerland (in total there are 80 TVR's here). But I finally found a Ferrari dealership that traded the car at an acceptable price.

That's when I got the Spider. At first I was looking for a dark blue coloured one but when I saw it in silver I was sold. The car is in excellent condition and when I bought it they gave me a service for free where they replaced the rear shocks, clutch, battery, cd-changer and radio, fixed the by-pass valve and much more. Unfortunately the roads are gritty and salty right now and the car awaits spring under its paletot.

So far it's everything I was hoping for. Much more refined ride with acceptable noise levels at low speed and an incredible scream when the by-pass valve opens. It's maybe not as fast as the TVR in terms of pure acceleration but it's much faster around the corners thanks to the electronic suspension.

So feel free to ask anything you might want to know about the car, I'd me more than happy to reply!

http://homepage.hispeed.ch/friendsforfun/fotos/ferrari/images/imgp6835.jpg
http://homepage.hispeed.ch/friendsforfun/fotos/ferrari/images/imgp6830.jpg
http://homepage.hispeed.ch/friendsforfun/fotos/ferrari/images/imgp6839.jpg
http://homepage.hispeed.ch/friendsforfun/fotos/ferrari/images/imgp6848.jpg
http://homepage.hispeed.ch/friendsforfun/fotos/ferrari/images/imgp6852.jpg

At last a picture of my daily driver, a '01 M3 SMG. The electronic gearbox is really nice and much better than what Ferrari is offering. This is why I went for the stick shift on the Ferrari. There were quite a few gremlins with the BMW with recalls and electronics playing up but it's been running well for some time now. I hate the exhaust note with the metallic rattle but I love the looks of the car.

http://homepage.hispeed.ch/friendsforfun/fotos/ferrari/images/cimg0052.jpg

Cheers Andy

[TT]

I remember a video of your F355, but even if you are a fellow Swiss as myself, w/o custom shot, this topic will be closed.

If you don't have the owner manual you should have the service one or else you could use I don't know, the cars' papers with the key (always placed on the car someway).. a sheet of paper with something written ot it...

Don't take it bad, but there is no way around the rules and they are there to protect you, us, everybody.

[TT]

Custom shot provided, topic back open :)

http://img141.exs.cx/img141/4481/cimg16838tb.th.jpg (http://img141.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img141&image=cimg16838tb.jpg)

Thanks Andy for some quick reflexes ;)

As for your cars, both are great, of course the F355 is a bit more "special", but having an M3 as a daily drive (I guess), it is something amazing already :D

Well I just have 3 questions:

- do you have any high-res pics of your cars?
- if the 355 is the same I saw in Lausanne (Zenith), why did you remove the Ferrari shields on the fenders (I know I already asked in the other topic, but well...)
- does Zenith Garage oraganize other events beside their trackdays in France? :P (this year I wanted to buy one of their track packages, costing 800 CHF, car and everything included, but since I got caught speeding I now have to pay the fine and rent a 45 kmh car.. so I will end up wasting even more than 800 and not sure I will still be willing to do the Ferrari trackday right away after the shock ;))

[griffith]

Well I just have 3 questions:

- do you have any high-res pics of your cars?
- if the 355 is the same I saw in Lausanne (Zenith), why did you remove the Ferrari shields on the fenders (I know I already asked in the other topic, but well...)
- does Zenith Garage oraganize other events beside their trackdays in France? :P (this year I wanted to buy one of their track packages, costing 800 CHF, car and everything included, but since I got caught speeding I now have to pay the fine and rent a 45 kmh car.. so I will end up wasting even more than 800 and not sure I will still be willing to do the Ferrari trackday right away after the shock ;))

I have the Ferrari pics in higher resolution, I will post them later. I have added some more pics of the M3.

The shields looked a bit cheap. No comparison to the embossed enamel shields of the factory option. And I prefer the clean look without them.

I don't know yet about other events, I will have to ask Blaise what their program will be for next year...

Lucky you that in Switzerland you have the escape of driving the 45 km/h cars... :lol:

http://img141.exs.cx/img141/1971/cimg00491jn.th.jpg (http://img141.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img141&image=cimg00491jn.jpg) http://img141.exs.cx/img141/715/cimg00517xk.th.jpg (http://img141.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img141&image=cimg00517xk.jpg) http://img141.exs.cx/img141/8026/cimg00553yi.th.jpg (http://img141.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img141&image=cimg00553yi.jpg)

[dingo]

wow, beautiful cars....I can't wait for the high-res pics of the F355 (maybe thumbnails would be better). :D
Congrats on the cars, if I ever come back to Switzerland (I was also born there) I will be expecting a ride.....only kidding. :twisted:

[gis]

Very nice cars,the 355 is gorgeous as expected,lol
th M3 is also a very nice colour,welcome to Jabbasworld :D

[TT]

Thanks for the pics, I'm gonna edit your post with some thumbs wich will make the page easier on the eyes and faster to load :D

As for reading 45 km/h and lucky in the same sentece.. it sounds weird LMAO :D

And yes, I noticed those shields were just adhesives and not the original ones

[adamwich]

Welcome! Beautiful cars!

[sikx5]

Awesome couple man, Love the 355, looks great! 8)

[SlickDizzy]

Your cars are gorgeous. Love the TVR and Ferrari. Bet I could take you on the circuit in my Mazda though ;)

[dingo]

^ I bet you probably couldn't take him....a 15yo in a Mazda v a Ferrari :P
Even of you could, who cares.....I'd still prefer a TVR, BMW or Ferrari. :wink:

[duko]

Awesome duo.. and welcome

[saadie]

kewl cars man ....
never seen that TVR before
love the M3 in that color .. what is it called gun metal ??

hope ya stick around :wink:

[ikon2003]

Very sweet pair of cars. F355 Spyder is awesome. And having an M3 as your daily is very nice as well - congrats on cars well chosen!

[dingo]

.....F355 Spyder is awesome. ......

Its SPIDER, must get it right when talking about something as special as a Ferrari. :wink:

[TT]

.....F355 Spyder is awesome. ......

Its SPIDER, must get it right when talking about something as special as a Ferrari. :wink:

You know the scary thing? In the Bonhams Ferrari Sale catalogue, 50 Swiss Francs, TOP quality and so on... well, they ALWAYS wrote Sypder :(

[saadie]

its maybe bcuz y looks nice .... just like in vampyre ... :mrgreen:

[dingo]

TT, that is a bit worrying :? , maybe it is actually Spyder and we are wrong.
I think I better send Luca di Montezemolo an email and ask him to clear things up for us. :D

[TT]

I think it is pretty obvious:

http://img149.exs.cx/img149/9536/ferrari3551346dm.th.jpg (http://img149.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img149&image=ferrari3551346dm.jpg)

[dingo]

I think so too.....so you would think that someone like the people who organise the Bonhams sale would get it right, they have the cars sitting right next to them. :?
BTW, sorry for hijacking your topic Griffith. :wink:

[stradale]

Great cars! I love the F355 in silver, the lines come out very nicely and the contrast between the rear lights and the body looks very good.
The Griffith is my favourite TVR, but I can understand why you chose the F355. Still, a shame you had to let it go.
An M3 is an excellent daily driver as well.

Welcome to JW! Enjoy your stay.

P.S.: TT, I didn't know you're trundling around town in one of those 45 km/h cars! LOL Please a picture of that. :lol:

[griffith]

I think it is pretty obvious:

It's not as obvious as it might seem... :wink:

The 348 was the first Ferrari convertible called Spider. All those before were called Spyder... e.g. 250 GT Spyder, 365 GTB/4 Daytona Spyder. Why did they change? No idea...

And thanks for the warm welcome! :D

[sameerrao]

Sweet F355 Andy...

BTW what year is it?

[possessed_beaver]

exelent cars, i can't wait to see you as an active member of jabbasworld, hope you are an intresting and fun guy to have around :)

..if not then :twisted:

:wink:

[SlickDizzy]

^ I bet you probably couldn't take him....a 15yo in a Mazda v a Ferrari :P
Even of you could, who cares.....I'd still prefer a TVR, BMW or Ferrari. :wink:

Not the point, mate. I've had some track time, plus my car is SOOPER FAST1!!!!!

Given I'd much rather have any of his cars, the TVR most notably. I love British sports cars. :)

[astonmartinandy]

Awesome cars, thanks for taking the time to take the custom shots as well! Welcome to the community!

p.s. Any chance of some videos of the cars in action?! :)

[SPEEDKILLAR]

Welcome, and very good choice of cars 8)

[sameerrao]

Not the point, mate. I've had some track time, plus my car is SOOPER FAST1!!!!!

Given I'd much rather have any of his cars, the TVR most notably. I love British sports cars. :)

What Mazda do you have?

[griffith]

Awesome cars, thanks for taking the time to take the custom shots as well! Welcome to the community!

p.s. Any chance of some videos of the cars in action?! :)

I have only a short video taken on the 2nd day of ownership. At the time there was a temp sensor for the cats reading wrong data and therefore the ECU was running the engine in "safe mode". After fixing this the car was performing much better and at 6000 rpm it's as if a turbo is kicking in...

http://homepage.hispeed.ch/friendsforfun/F355.wmv

[TT]

hehe, it was posted here on JW time ago if I am not wrong :D

[griffith]

hehe, it was posted here on JW time ago if I am not wrong :D

Can you provide the link to that? I would love to see the comments... :wink:

Another question: Do I require a certain number of posts before I can download from the video vault?

[TT]

Actually I can't find the topic.. it was maybe with other vids, that's why :?

As for the vids, well, it's not really post count related. We give video access to the regular members, the ones taking part in the community and its discussions for quite some time :)

[Wutputt]

First of all welcome to JW.

Secondly, you have a very nice collection of cars. Having a M3 as a daily driver is already lovely. But the f355 for the weekend driving and sunny days is even better. Both TVR and f355 are high on my wish list (if I'd have the money ;)).

It also seems you're taking well care of your cars. Certainly the f355 looks like brand-new. It's always nice to see someone loving his cars like it should.

[griffith]

It also seems you're taking well care of your cars. Certainly the f355 looks like brand-new. It's always nice to see someone loving his cars like it should.

Hi Wutputt

Taking care of the car is part of the Ferrari experience... :) While my BMW must cope with automatic car washs I would never do that with the F355. I have spent quite some time detailing the car with a clay bar and waxing it; this is also a good way to get to know all the bits and pieces of the car. The TVR was in better condition when I sold it than it was at time of purchase. But I must also say that the F355 has been very well taken care of by the previous owner. When I was looking around for Spiders I have seen quite a few examples that were not so nice...
This doesn't mean I won't drive the car, there are already way too many "garage queen" Ferraris and I bought mine to have a good time on the road and do some nice trips.

Can't wait for spring... :P

[Pimp Racer]

WOW those are pretty nice man!

[666fast]

Welcome to JW Griffith! Those are two excellent cars there, especially the 355. I love 355's and damnit, one of these days I'm gonna own one. They ust need to devalue a bit more! LOL

[SlickDizzy]

^ I bet you probably couldn't take him....a 15yo in a Mazda v a Ferrari :P
Even of you could, who cares.....I'd still prefer a TVR, BMW or Ferrari. :wink:

Not the point, mate. I've had some track time, plus my car is SOOPER FAST1!!!!!

Given I'd much rather have any of his cars, the TVR most notably. I love British sports cars. :)


Im not sure if you are joking or you are just naive and full of yourself......

What makes you think that you as a 15 year old can beat a 38 year old guy who have been driving high end sports cars for quite some while.......

I dont care what track experience you have at 15 thats a ignorant comment at best........ :wink:

Im not dissing your age but a asshole statment is asshole statement what ever the age...... :roll:

It's hard to put sarcasm on the internet...why else would i call it "SOOPER FAST"? :?

And it's a Mazda 323 with 82HP, too much weight, an open diff, and a crappy suspension.

[dingo]

well you sure didn't give the impression of being sarcastic, thats what the smily faces and such are for. :wink:
So we were right.....you have no chance of beating the Ferrari, because you can barely drive and you have a slow(er) car. :P

[astonmartinandy]

Thanks for posting the link to the video :)

It's great to see when owners really take pride in their cars and use them as they are intended to be driven!

[riconijhof]

Awesome cars there! I've seen the video before as well, and I found the link to the JW topic:

http://www.motorworld.net/forum/showthread.php?t=17773

Make sure you enjoy the 355! :mrgreen:

[nurbrun]

beautiful cars griffith. so mant ferrari owners on JW :mrgreen:

[undien717]

If you want to get rid of the raspy note on your M3, you should get the UUC Rasp-X midpipe. Here's a clip (http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/raspx/RASP-X_SHOOTOUT.mov) comparing the stock M3 and an M3 w/ the Rasp-X.

Here's the link (http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/raspx/) on info on the UUC Rasp-X midpipe. UUC products, IMO, have the highest quality craftsmanship, so the Rasp-X midpipe is something that I would strongly consider getting if I had an E46 M3.

And if you want to get a performance muffler, you have to go w/ UUC's. Here's the link (http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/E46M3%5Fmuffler/) w/ info and video clips about their muffler.

[Erez]

great choice in cars man... couldn't pick them better myself... a 355 and an E46 M3.. great taste man :good:

[Shinigami]

Very nice cars you've got there man, good to see more people from Switzerland in here :)

Has TT talked with you about the meeting being held in Switzerland in October?

[abbor]

WTF!? Last post before you posted undien, was from Fri Dec 31, 2004...

A little bump up :roll:

[oscargarza88]

welcome back, and hey awsome cars! as others have said i coudnt have chosen them better... i will have those cars too.... someday... i will watch! :)congrats

[undien717]

Nice rides- If you want to get rid of the raspy exhaust note on your M3, you should look into getting the Rasp-X midpipe from UUC. They make top quality parts, and their midpipe is something that I would definitely get if I had an E46 M3. There is a video comparison on the link below as well.

Rasp X (http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/raspx/)